Why ten frames work
A ten frame shows a number as a picture children can read without counting one by one. Five fills a row, ten fills the frame, and the empty boxes show how many more make ten. That picture is the base of adding within 10 and understanding teen numbers.
Three ways to practise
- How many? Count the dots and write the number.
- Make 10. Count the empty boxes to find what makes ten.
- Teens. One full frame and some more: ten and some ones.
In the New Zealand Curriculum
- First 6 monthsSeeing small groups of up to 5 without counting them one by one, and facts to 5.
- Year 1Basic facts to 10, and place value for numbers to 20, such as 17 being 1 ten and 7 ones.
- Year 2Quick recall of addition facts to 20.
The ten frame supports the curriculum’s early goal of seeing small groups at a glance: a full row of five is seen, not counted. How many? suits the first six months, Make 10 matches the Year 1 facts to 10, and Teens shows the place value Year 1 asks for.
Ask “how did you see it?” after each frame. Answers like “five and two more” show a child is using the structure rather than counting dots.
Summarised in our own words from the New Zealand Curriculum: Mathematics and Statistics, Years 0–8 (in effect from 2025), and the Ministry of Education’s year-by-year guide for parents and whānau.
